bessyglass:I envy Lillyspad for all her lovely pictures. Good job, friend.

WHAT?????? It should be me telling YOU that!! Lady, when I was still a lurker, I always loved your pics of cats! To be honest with you, and I'm not kidding here....when I look at some of the pictures, I think 'Hmmm, would Bessyglass post this?" I am humbled and honored that you would say that. Thank you!! ♥

I was out of town for 5 days and returned after midnight last night. Sneaker was prancing, meowing and headbutting me for attention-- it made me so happy to be back! We've been catching up on snuggles this morning and we even got his nails trimmed. How do people live their lives without pets?

lethological_lassie:I was out of town for 5 days and returned after midnight last night. Sneaker was prancing, meowing and headbutting me for attention-- it made me so happy to be back! We've been catching up on snuggles this morning and we even got his nails trimmed. How do people live their lives without pets?

I've no idea what's gotten into the GoGo Beastie lately. She usually doesn't like people food at all and will turn her nose up at it if I offer her something like tuna or a bit of salmon or chicken. She has started stealing my food though. For no reason at all. She's been eyeballing it for a long time - I figured she used to supervise any cooking and eating at her old home and didn't think too much about it. Now she's started with outright food theft the minute my back is turned. No warning, either, just decided to start this morning and it's been impossible to put any food item down anywhere ever since. I put down some toast points for something I'm working on later and I turned around just in time to see her fluffy butt tearing up the stairs with one of them.

I really don't want her to keep doing this sort of thing, so I put my camera on my work table since she's afraid of the camera for some reason. We'll see if that works or if she's only afraid of my camera if I'm holding it. In the meantime, if someone is needing a napkin or drink refill or whatever at my house they need to take their food with them to fetch it, ask someone else to do it for them or just forget about it, cuz apparently GoGo Beastie has decided all the foods are belong to her.

Fang Q Most for Excellent Fotos! predle for ECU of Lucy for just one, followed quickly by Another Comfy Nap posted by lilyspad, who does find quantities of Excellent Fotos! Conga-cats from bessyglassrichly deserved, seconded & thirded by others of us Out Yonder.WallOfText sted pix this time from a Strange Cosmos month+old posting just saved. Critters first:- - -I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. - Rita RudnerThe greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. - Samuel ButlerMan is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. - Samuel ButlerI had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. - Bill Dana"Moo" may represent an idea, but only the cow knows. - Mason Cooley "City Aphorisms"Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger. - Abbie HoffmanA horse is dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle. - Ian Fleming- - -Then on to DoubleSpeak (didn't that figure in George Orwell's 1984?) selections, from the Quarterly Review of Doublespeak:Another doctor reports that in a recent issue of the American Journal of Family Practice fleas were called "hematophagous arthropod vectors."The description on the package of Stouffer's Veal Tortellini with Tomato Sauce says it contains "exquisite egg pasta." The list of ingredients, however, includes "cooked noodle product."Only furrst of these was critter related, so I won't plague you with the rest, much as I'd like to. Well, just 2 more --Scott L. Pickard, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, calls them "ground-mounted confirmatoryroute markers." You probably call them road signs, but then you don't work in a government agency.It's not "elderly" or "senior citizens" anymore. Now it's "chronologically experienced citizens."=30=

So I was at work yesterday and I had gone up to one of the recovery towers to do some work.

In this particular ward is a big male nurse, totally would not even make one think he is even a nurse the way he looks with his shoulder length curly hair and beard ;)Anyways I hear him ask one of his coworkers to whack him on the back between his shoulder blades and she very hesitantly gave him just a light slap.As I knew exactly why he needed this done, I went up and said "Allow me" and proceeded to give him 3 big hard hearty whacks on his back with the heels of my hands, hearing the phlegmn loosen up as he breathed (Asthma/lung issues: I remember my mom doing this for hours with me lying across her knees as she pummeled my back to loosen my lungs up). He turned around and with a surprised look on his face said "Oh! I thought it was someone else given the strength of those whacks! you sure pack a whallop for someone your size! thanks!" and proceeded to give me a high five and also comment how he's surprised I'm not a nurse myself. Hahahah.

I run into things like this all the time at work. People are genuinely surprised how much knowledge I have on a variety of things, how seeing a lot of things happen at work don't phase me and how much I interact with patients every where I go.That and for some reason, I've been getting a lot of positive comments on my dandelion tattoo.I have no idea what's up with that.

Brian Blessed's Bastard Boy:Finally got the truth out of THE MOTHER about how everything happened with shiatake coming to our home. ****Small thread jack alert****** I have suffered from clinical depression for years, and mom was there for a lot of it before I left for the military, but she hasn't seen much of me, but knows I still suffer from it. She said that when she saw how I was struggling with Sake' passing, she saw the same thing from when I was a kid and things got really bad for me. She was scared that I would slide back again after just coming out of it last year before the wife went through all her surgeries, but not come out of it like I did before. I was touched, but told her that it was something that happened and not anything that people who don't suffer from it go through when they lose a loved one. I think with everything we've been through as a family, including what the wife went and is going through, as well as losing my step dad last year, she's terrified herself of being helpless as things still try to even out and we find some semblance of normalcy in our crazy animal filled world. My daughter was the one who suggested the cat, mainly because she saw the words Maine Coon, and knew the wife wanted one, but also thought that since it was a male, it would bond with me. He's a loving cat, but I'm thinking he'll be more the wife's than mine. I told her it was OK, and as long as he keeps wanting belly skritches and head bumps, then everything will be fine. ****End of thread jack****

Clinical depression is a biatch and a half. It's something I've dealt with for years too...but LOOK at you!You haven't let it stop you from having an honorable military career, a marriage that many would envy, and some great kids. Not to mention all the critters that share your lives...It hasn't stopped you from LIVING. It does that to a lot of folks (living as opposed to just existing).You and your family...very sincere admiration.

One 'good' thing about depression...we learn to truly APPRECIATE the good days. No telling how many we'll have, so they're not taken for granted.